Maximum Bob
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Maximum Bob Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Elmore Leonard (Author), Richard Poe (Narrator), HarperAudio (Publisher)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 492 ratings
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A character so outrageous he could only have come from the ingenious imagination of Elmore Leonard, lewd, lecherous, law-bending Florida jurist Judge Robert "Maximum Bob" Gibbs has been judged guilty by a grudge-bearing malefactor and sentenced to death - by alligator, if necessary. Maximum Bob is a delightfully dark classic thriller from "the greatest crime writer of our time, perhaps ever" (New York Times Book Review), and any listener who loved getting gleefully lost in the criminal mayhem of Get Shorty, Rum Punch, Out of Sight, The Hot Kid, or any number of the inimitable Leonard's numerous crime fiction masterworks will get maximum enjoyment out of this one.

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  1. Listening Length
    7 hours and 52 minutes
  2. Author
    Elmore Leonard
  3. Narrator
    Richard Poe
  4. Audible release date
    February 21, 2017
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    HarperAudio
  7. ASIN
    B01MRLBUED
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 7 hours and 52 minutes
Author Elmore Leonard
Narrator Richard Poe
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date February 21, 2017
Publisher HarperAudio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B01MRLBUED
Best Sellers Rank #2,141 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#111 in Mysteries (Audible Books & Originals)
#388 in Thrillers & Suspense (Audible Books & Originals)
#698 in Mysteries (Books)

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
492 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

ann smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Elmore Leonard has a wicked sense of humor in most of his books, and Maximum Bob is no exception.
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2017
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I would recommend this book to readers who appreciate authentic dialogue, believable characters, and amazing twists and turns in the plot. Best of all is the judge’s young wife who has strange talents , and possesses (or is possessed by) a 150 year-old girl who is smarter than Maximum Bob’s wife.
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Frozen_Lizard
4.0 out of 5 stars Better than average crime fiction
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2013
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Elmore Leonard is one of the greatest living writers of crime fiction - perhaps even THE greatest living writer - so the reader goes in expecting good stuff. This one is good, better than average, but not an exceptional Elmore Leonard novel.

The story is fun, sometimes a little silly, at times even slightly sinister, yet it never quite comes together in a cohesive unit. It's good, but it's less accessible than many of Mr. Leonard's greatest works. Part of it might be due to a slight supernatural element that is underdeveloped (and seems out of place), or the character of Maximum Bob himself who never really comes into focus to any great extent, but whatever it is there's something that's just ever so slightly off with this one. When you weave together a twisting, turning plot the way Mr. Leonard does everything has to be just right or it starts to fall apart, even though this one doesn't fall apart you can see it starting to unravel around the edges. The story never engrossed me to the point of shutting out the world around me the way a good Elmore Leonard will usually do.

It's a good read. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys the kind of eccentric, oddball characters that Elmore Leonard often specializes in just don't let your expectations get too high going in.
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W. G. Kuhn
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2019
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I purchased a "used - like new" copy and boy was it. Great condition, no creases or dog-earred pages, no significant marks on the cover, etc. And it's a pretty good read so far, like most Leonard books.
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Barry Roskin Blake
3.0 out of 5 stars A Letdown For Elmore Leonard Fans
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2018
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While a great book for those that love Elmore Leonard’s style of dialog, this novel left me very disappointed. The lack of more story involving the title character was also a huge letdown. Too many other characters that did not do too much to help the flow.
This is not a worthy book to follow up with right after ’Get Shorty.’
Luckily, there are many other terrific Elmore Leonard stories to choose from on Amazon.
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The Captain
4.0 out of 5 stars Mixed effort
Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2012
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I'm a big Leonard fan. Let's start with that disclaimer. Maximum Bob is something of an oddity for me, in that, on one hand, it is classic Leonard narrative style, that flowing, loose, close-to-character's inner workings stuff George V. Higgins kicked off and Leonard refined. In this respect, Elmore is Elmore again and I'm glad to see it. The problem for me (and what stops me short of 5 star rating) is that the story itself seems to have been stretched too far with the character Leanne. Her presence, as an alligator-paranoid semi-psychic seems forced, as if she were shoe-horned in there in the effort to save and elevate a plot that was in all other respects fairly predictable stuff. Maybe Elmore was tired. Another problem for me, was the now predictable trope of the weak man. Elmore seems to have decided that strong men are anathema to sales, or he has thrown in the towel and accomodated agents and publishers who still think the improbably rational and brave female character is still new and believable. No man familiar with women has ever met a woman as man-like in her takes as Elmore's proto-American Amazons. OK, now call me a chauvanist. The problem is that it seems clear to me that Leonard no more believes his own neo-stereotype than he believes men have wombs. Astute readers will see this nearly crass accomodation of the lowest common readership denominator in his rather bland presentations of Leanne, Kathy and her ill-fated love interest, Gary. Maybe he should go back and read Stick. That one he got perfectly.
3 people found this helpful
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o's*oasis
5.0 out of 5 stars book club review
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2011
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My book club read & reviewed this book last month. It was very fun.
The book gives you a look at a sub-culture in our society.
Law enforcement and criminals intertwine, the grey areas of both sides blurred.
The South is such a good sitting and the stories of Maximum Bob are believeable and enjoyable.
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Glenda Ballentine
5.0 out of 5 stars A book gor my daughter.
Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2021
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My daughter really liked it.
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wayKool
4.0 out of 5 stars Typical Elmore Leonard, But That's Not a Bad Thing
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2015
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This is my favorite non-western Elmore Leonard novel. Even though most of the characters are recognizable clones of other Leonard characters, this book offers some interesting plot twists before finishing with a typical non-ending. I actually prefer Leonard's westerns (Hombre, Valdez is Coming) to his later work, but anything by Elmore Leonard is worth reading. Just don't expect many surprises.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Mav617
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 12, 2018
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I like the authors work and this one is really up there. Great characters, plot like a nice martini with a bit of a twist, goes down easy.
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Mme Liliane Chatelain
5.0 out of 5 stars livre d'accasion
Reviewed in France on October 1, 2013
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excellent rapport qualité prix et il est arrive rapidement . cette expédition répond à mes attentes et sa lecture est tout à fait plaisante
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Paul@Aude_France
4.0 out of 5 stars Maximum Leonard
Reviewed in France on May 17, 2022
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Elmore Leonard could really write crime capers that kept the reader in thrall. His books were quick reads but never less than well written and addictive. This one will certainly be to the taste of any fan of crime fiction.
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Mike Craven
5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 29, 2020
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Hilarious
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Bobbie
3.0 out of 5 stars multiplicity of POVs and back stories kept me at arm’s length for the first half
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 18, 2015
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When someone delivers an alligator to Judge Bob Gibbs’ porch, there’s no shortage of suspects. Have to say I didn’t enjoy this Elmore Leonard (1991) half as much as I did Swag (1976). All his writing strengths are in play – the spare description, action and dialogue, the humour, so much going on in the subtext, brilliant – but the multiplicity of POVs and back stories kept me at arm’s length for the first half. By the end I cared about the heroine and feared for her, but it took me a while. I did, however, very much enjoy and will always remember the half-page paragraph (chapter 7) in the point of view of the disorientated ten-foot female alligator.
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